by Manuel Corpas

[Personal Shitinomics] Phase I: Collecting and sending poo to the other side of the globe

Finally, I was able to find the appropriate means to send the fecal sample to Hong Kong, for the BGI to sequence my faeces. All DNA contained in my faeces will be sequenced, to produce what it is called a metagenomics analysis. This includes the identification of every bacteria, virus and every other living organism present in my poo.

Once I get the data, I will make it freely accessible for anyone to download. I will also make public every discovery or insight I find through this analysis. At the end of this process I hope to be able to complement my metagenomics analysis results with those from my personal genome and the genomes of my family.

Darren Heavens at TGAC kindly provided me with some lab gloves, a sterile tube container and a polystyrene box with dry ice inside. It took me two attempts to get the sample inside the the tube in a reasonably sterile manner. The first time a bit of the faeces fell on the side of the tube and my attempt to clean it made some tap water go inside the tube, so I had to discard it. The second attempt seemed to work OK as this time only faeces went in as you see below, and hopefully enough of them!

My sample in a sterile tube.

Now I have my sample inside the polystyrene box cooling and hope to send it next week (see next picture). The dry ice seems to last forever, so I am reasonably happy if it takes maybe a couple of weeks before it reaches the BGI.

Parcel with polystyrene box and dry ice with the sample, ready to be shipped to the BGI.